


Hammock Burn

by merry_amelie



Series: Academic Arcadia [199]
Category: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Genre: Alternate Reality, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-10 15:21:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4397075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merry_amelie/pseuds/merry_amelie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another battle won.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hammock Burn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laura_McEwan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laura_McEwan/gifts).



> Feedback: Is treasured at merryamelie@aol.com (or leave a comment).
> 
> Disclaimer: Mr. Lucas owns everything Star Wars. I'm not making any money.
> 
> For  
> My beta team: Nerowill, Emila-Wan, and Carol  
> Mali Wane for posting  
> My former betas: Alex, Ula, and Padawan Sue
> 
> Ian couldn't resist the title pun on Bannockburn.  
>   
> [Battle of Bannockburn on Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bannockburn): The Battle of Bannockburn (Blàr Allt a' Bhonnaich in Scottish Gaelic) (24 June 1314) was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence.  
>   
> To Laura, with thanks for her comment about marriage equality: "The dominoes are falling faster and faster," which I've borrowed for Quinn to  
> say.

"Ian!" Quinn's happy shout resounded from the kitchen.  
  
It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon, a few hours before sunset. Ian was sprawled on the hammock in their back yard, relaxing into the long holiday weekend already. He had drifted into dreams about the upcoming Memorial Day barbecue -- in which Quinn played a starring role -- with their usual mellow blend of family, friends, and neighbors this year.  
  
The two of them had driven home from Luke just twenty-eight minutes ago. They were tired from a day of researching the original Middle English source material on Geoffrey Chaucer. At least they had been working in the Manuscript Room of the library, which was kept cooler than the other areas to preserve fragile texts. While Ian had gone to the bedroom to change into his Skyhawks t-shirt and shorts, Quinn had checked his e-mail and switched on the radio to hear the news in his office.  
  
Ian had the faraway look of someone who had just woken up when Quinn found him out back. "Ah, laddie, sorry for bothering you." An indulgent Quinn bent to ruffle through soft copper spikes with gentle fingers. "I thought you'd want to hear the news right away."  
  
Rapidly shedding the last vestiges of his nap, Ian grinned up at him. He grabbed his husband's shirt and Quinn instantly got the idea, kneeling alongside the hammock, with a fine lack of concern about the grass stains getting on his cream slacks. They smiled into one another's eyes, with that unmistakable shared look which meant a kiss was about to come. Apparently, whatever Quinn had to say was no match for the immediacy of their need for each other.  
  
Their kiss was lingering, loving, and luscious -- the perfect start to the three-day weekend. Ian could tell by the carefree way Quinn's lips caressed his own that Quinn had good news for him.  
  
A couple of light years later, Ian finally got around to asking, "Well, what's so important, my love?" as he lazily let his fingers play over Quinn's afternoon stubble.  
  
Quinn grinned into his lad's hand, then kissed his palm. "Looks like you can proudly put your Eagle Scout badge back in the case with your gymnastics trophies." Ian gazed at him in silent wonder, a new hope daring to grow. "The Boy Scouts just voted to include gay children in their troops." A fierce exhilaration shone in Quinn's eyes, as if he'd just won a lightsaber duel. Of course, it had been a battle -- achieving equality usually was.  
  
Ian's irises became a more vibrant green than the grass surrounding them. "Fantastic! That must mean hundreds of 'yes' votes by the Council, then," he marveled. He shifted his hand to Quinn's thigh, which was pressing in an enticing way against the fringe of the hammock.  
  
Quinn rumbled appreciatively. "Yes, they said on the news that 757 members voted for the change."  
  
Ian whistled. "Just wonderful."  
  
Quinn's blue twinkle made its first appearance of the afternoon. "That it is, lad. I think it will really make a difference."  
  
"Me, too. Here's hoping the youngsters have an easier time of it now than I did," Ian said earnestly.  
  
"My compassionate laddie," murmured Quinn, nuzzling in for another kiss.  
  
"There's nothing like feeling accepted," said Ian, entwining his fingers with Quinn's. "If this had happened when I was in scouting, I might have decided that it was safe to come out years before we found each other."  
  
"'Twould have been a blessing, m'lad," Quinn said softly.  
  
The Thursday afternoon sunshine burnished Ian's hair into a glory of golden russet strands. His boyish face was shining up at Quinn with total love. Not for the first time, Quinn wished they had met earlier, when he could have protected his laddie from the inevitable hardships of growing up gay in past decades. As it was, Ian perforce had endured the trials he'd encountered alone, just as Quinn had himself.  
  
Ian said, "Now all they have to do is make the Scouts open to everyone -- like the Girl Scouts -- including gay Scoutmasters."  
  
"That will come, in time," Quinn said.  
  
"So sure, are you?" asked Ian with a cheeky grin, knowing that his bad impression of Master Yoda would bring a smile to Quinn's beloved lips, not to mention a groan. He turned out to be right on both counts -- his husband's upturned mouth gave him the groan he was going for. He could feel it reverberating into him since his side was all but attached to Quinn's chest, thanks to the slope of the hammock, as his herven knelt on the grass.  
  
Quinn said, "Yes, I am. In fact, if they'd only done this decades ago, I might have decided to join the Scouts myself."  
  
"I can just see you as a troop leader, Scoutmaster Qui," teased Ian.  
  
"That's 'Master Qui' to you, my young Padawan," Quinn teased him right back.  
  
Ian started to laugh. "Well, then, *Master*, do you have the time for a little swing in the hammock with me?"  
  
"I wouldn't mind getting into the swing of things, lad." Quinn winked at Ian, who winked right back at him, with nary a trace of a groan. "Let me just change into shorts, so I can take full advantage of it," said Quinn with a crooked smile. He loped into the house, humming a little John Williams tune as he went.  
  
Quinn resisted the urge to bounce onto the hammock, instead carefully sliding on, so as not to make the hammock sway as wildly as if they were at sea. Made of durable green canvas, just like the one in Padua, it was wide enough to accomodate two athletic men. A pair of mature oak trees easily supported their weight and provided cool green shade, a deeper shade of green than the canvas.  
  
The abundance of trees gave them much-treasured privacy, and they took advantage of it with occasional caresses and kisses, which otherwise would have been saved for indoors. A king-sized pillow stretched across the side facing away from the house, letting them lounge in comfort.  
  
Ian was particularly glad that Quinn had changed into his grey sweat-shorts. Now he could feel the little hairs on his husband's thighs and calves tickling his skin. He brushed Quinn's calf with his own, evoking a shiver, despite the sunny day.  
  
This little shiver made Ian even more adventurous, and he followed his bold move by pressing his arm into Quinn's. Now they were touching all along their sides, and Ian started shivering, too.  
  
However, the rough texture of the canvas cradling them took its toll by creating unexpected friction of its own. After a delectable interlude of sliding between each other's skin and the hammock underneath them, their elbows, forearms, knees, calves, and thighs were reddened from rubbing the right way.  
  
The men took it in stride, though, savoring their closeness, despite the Down Side of Rubbing with Force. Definitely gratuituous use of the Force, if anything was! So despite Quinn's best intentions when joining his lad, the hammock swayed wildly, after all.  
  
Artoo and Sandy were having almost as much fun as their dads, dozing in a patch of sunlight near Quinn's beloved daffodil garden, which shone in golden harmony with the sun at this time of year. The pups knew better than Ian and Quinn, though -- sleeping in a jumble together would have overheated them.  
  
The sun, slanting through the oak trees, was a welcome visitor as it balanced out the shade of the trees. The dappled light made natural designs over the men as they played, ever-changing with the wind and the hour. The tassels of the hammock occasionally drifted over the edge of their legs, when the breeze was particularly stiff.  
  
After concluding that they'd had their fill of 'hammock burn' for the afternoon, they settled down to continue their conversation, feeling as if they were light years away from the cares of the day.  
  
"It's not just the victory with the Boy Scouts today. Ever since the election, I've been on a high," said Ian.  
  
Quinn rumbled, "I've noticed, laddie mine. So have I," and patted Ian's thigh in contentment.  
  
Ian grinned up at him. "We've gained four marriage equality states in five months," he said in amazement. "Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Minnesota."  
  
"The dominoes are falling faster and faster. That's a fifty-percent increase just this year," said Quinn.  
  
Ian nodded. "Those wins in Maine and Washington State really galvanized our supporters into action."  
  
"Yes, the Force is surely with us now." So saying, Quinn found his balance in the hammock by centering himself over Ian's mouth for a celebratory kiss.


End file.
